Warsan Shire | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1988-08-01)1 August 1988 (age 36) Kenya |
| Occupation | Poet, writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Notable works | Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth (2011) Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems (2022) |
| Notable awards | Brunel University African Poetry Prize;Young Poet Laureate for London |
| Website | |
| WarsanShire.com | |
Warsan ShireFRSL (born 1 August 1988) is a British writer, poet, editor, and teacher who was born toSomali parents inKenya.[1] In 2013, she was awarded the inauguralBrunel University African Poetry Prize.[2]
Born on 1 August 1988 in Kenya to Somali parents, Shire migrated with her family to theUnited Kingdom at the age of one. She has four siblings.[3] She has aBachelor of Arts increative writing.[4]
In 2011, she releasedTeaching My Mother How to Give Birth, a poetry pamphlet published byflipped eye. A full collection of hers was released in 2016, also through flipped eye.[3] Shire was mentored throughThe Complete Works programme for poets of colour.
Shire has read her poetry in various artistic venues throughout the world, including in the United Kingdom,Italy,Germany,North America,South Africa, and Kenya.[5] Her poems have been published in various literary publications, includingThe Poetry Review,Magma, andWasafiri.[5] Shire's poems has been featured in the collectionsSalt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2011),Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe, 2014), andNew Daughters of Africa (edited byMargaret Busby, 2019).[6] Her poetry has been translated into a number of languages, includingItalian,Spanish,Portuguese,Swedish,Danish, andEstonian.[3]
Shire put out a limited-release pamphlet calledHer Blue Body in 2015.[7] She serves as the poetry editor atSpook magazine and teaches poetry workshops globally.[3]
Shire's poetry featured prominently inBeyoncé's 2016 feature-length filmLemonade.[8] Beyoncé's interest in Shire's work was sparked by Shire's piece "For Women Who Are Difficult to Love".[9][10] Beyoncé again featured Shire's poetry in her 2020 musical filmBlack Is King.[11]
Shire published her first full-length poetry collection,Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head: Poems, on 1 March 2022.[12] Shire was interviewed onNPR'sWeekend Edition Sunday bySarah McCammon on 27 February 2022 about the book.[13]
Shire draws on the personal experiences from her own life and the lives of people with whom she is close.[1] She writes about and for people whose voices are generally not heard, like immigrants and refugees as well as other marginalized people.[1][14] Shire is also quoted as saying: "I also navigate a lot through memory, my memories and other people's memories, trying to essentially just make sense of stuff."[2] As afirst-generation immigrant, she has used her poetry to connect with her home country of Somalia, which she has never visited but which she describes as "a nation of poets."[2][15] Her words "No one leaves home unless / home is the mouth of a shark," from the poem "Conversations about home (at a deportation centre)", have been called "a rallying call for refugees and their advocates."[16]
In April 2013, Shire was presented withBrunel University's inauguralAfrican Poetry Prize,[2] an award for poets who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection.[5] She was chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries.[2]
In October 2013, Shire was selected from a shortlist of six as the first Young Poet Laureate forLondon. The honour is part of theLondon Legacy Development Corporation's Spoke programme, which focuses on promoting arts and culture inQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area.[17]
In 2014, Shire was chosen as poet-in-residence ofQueensland, Australia, liaising with theAboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts over a six-week period.[3]
In June 2018, Shire was elected Fellow of theRoyal Society of Literature for its "40 Under 40" initiative.[18]
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head was shortlisted for the 2022Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection and the2023 Dylan Thomas Prize and appeared on the longlist for the 2023Griffin Poetry Prize.[19][20][21][22]
She lives inLos Angeles, California, with her husband, Andres Reyes-Manzo, and their two young children.[12][23]
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